CITY OF PALMS CLASSIC: Texas two-step in Wednesday's title game

Grace Prep's Jelon Hornbeak won the City of Palms Classic slam dunk contest at Bishop Verot.

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Grace Prep eliminated Montverde in the City of Palms Classic semifinals on Tuesday.

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Kharli Rose/Special to the Daily News
Micah Seaborn of Grace Prep drives past Montverde players during semifinal play Tuesday, December 20, 2011, in the City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers.

FORT MYERS - Two Texas teams traveled 1,200 miles to Southwest Florida only to face each other in the prestigious State Farms City of Palms Classic championship game.

Arlington-Grace Prep and Plano-Prestonwood Christian will play for the tournament's 39th title at 9 tonight at Bishop Verot after winning their semifinal games Tuesday.

The schools, both located in Dallas suburbs, are a 40-mile drive apart. Prestonwood is the No. 7 seed in the 16-team field, while Grace Prep is seeded eighth. Both are making their first trip to the City of Palms.

Grace Prep knocked off its second straight national power by buckling down on defense.

Facing a Montverde Academy team ranked seventh nationally by USA Today that features five Division I college recruits, Grace Prep all but shut down the talented Eagles. The Lions held Montverde to 32 percent shooting and went on a 10-2 run during a key stretch in the fourth quarter and won 53-45.

"It was all heart," 7-footer Isaiah Austin, a Baylor recruit, said. "We just kept playing hard. We didn't let anything get to us."

Prestonwood held off a furious Reserve (La.)-Riverside comeback and won 71-66 in the other semifinal. The Lions went up by 19 points after opening the second quarter on 15-1 run. Riverside took a brief one-point lead in the fourth before Prestonwood's Julius Randle, ESPN's No. 3 junior in the country, gave the Lions the lead for good with a three-point play with 2:48 left.

Riverside was led by John Lewis with 15. The Rebels had the ball down three with 33 seconds left but couldn't score.

Grace Prep's strong defensive effort, including Austin's five blocks, came a night after surviving a track meet to beat Santa Ana (Calif.)-Mater Dei 86-80 in the quarterfinals. Mater Dei is ranked sixth by USA Today, while the Lions are No. 17 in the Super 25 poll.

Montverde led by six early in the third quarter, but the game was tied at 33-33 to start the fourth. A basket by junior Jordan Mickey with 5:28 to play started a 10-2 run that gave Grace Prep the lead for good.

"It was a tough shooting night," Montverde coach Kevin Boyle said. "Obviously you have to credit (the Lions). They did a good job with their length and toughness."

Boyle was looking to repeat as a City of Palms championship coach. He was on the bench last year when Elizabeth (N.J.)-St Patrick won the title on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. This is his first season at Montverde after 23 seasons and 11 previous trips to the City of Palms with St. Patrick.

Grace Prep struggled offensively as well but found its rhythm in the fourth quarter. The Lions scored 20 points in the final period after entering the fourth with 33 for the game.

Austin led the way with a game-high 11 points and 12 rebounds. Mickey, a top 100 junior, had 10 points and seven rebounds. Emmanuel Mudiay, ESPN's No. 7 sophomore in the country, added 10 points and seven assists.

Miguel Cartagena scored 10 points and was Montverde's only player to reach double figures. Clemson's 6-foot-10 recruit Landry Nnoko added six points, eight rebounds and six blocks for the Eagles.